![Heart Healer – The Metal Opera by Magnus Karlsson [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TheMetalOperaByMagnusKarlsson-768x768.jpg)
“Following my TYMHM for Seven Spires’s Emerald Seas last January, I continued doing my homework to stay up to date regarding any new projects vocalist Adrienne Cowan took part in. It’s no surprise then that one year later, I find myself writing another TYMHM for a band involving Cowan in a major role.” Hearts conSPIRE.
Wilderun’s Epigone marks the band’s first new material while signed to Century Media, but fourth record. Readers of this website will know that I think they are the best band of the 2010s, having composed progressive, deathly, folksy metal records that will stay with me forever. Their last two albums have both been my record of the year (and AMG Himself’s) and the band continues to accrue acclaim for their incredible sound and talent. Epigone is, without a doubt, an album that comes with high expectations from everyone. It’s interesting to note, then, that the title means “a less distinguished follower or imitator of someone.”
“This is also how I feel about symphonic metal, its glimmering, shiny surface often subject to intense scrutiny from those who say the subgenre has stagnated. Enter Age of Athena, a new band from Canada’s Ontario whose debut, Gate to Oblivion, combines “influences of American metalcore and European symphonic metal.” Symphony of opera destruction?
“W.E.B. was not what I was led to believe them to be. The promo titling called them “Symphonic Metal,” which in my mind doesn’t extend to the extreme side of things. Upon sampling their new fifth installment, Colosseum, however, I came to realize I was misinformed. ,b>W.E.B. is perhaps one of the most extreme bands I’ve heard in the last two years that rightfully claim the symphonic metal tag.” False flags and sticky WEBS.
“Where Hatred Dwells and Darkness Reigns floored me the first time I heard it back in 2017. I suspect that I liked it a fair bit more than Ferrous Beuller
did, but his review (one of the first reviews I read on this site, in fact) is how I discovered it, so I owe him big-time. Zornheym’s blend of symphonic bombast with blackened death wrapped in Shutter Island-esque psychological horror sold me right away. Four years later, I still return to it often. The Swedish quartet announced the follow-up to Where Hatred Dwells and Darkness Reigns a few months ago, and since then Ferrous and I spent much time gossiping and whispering in anticipation for The Zornheim Sleep Experiment.” To sleep, perchance to fanboy.
“There is no overstating the legacy of Emperor. Even before I’d taken the plunge into the icy seas of black metal, I was well aware of the enormous influence and respect they laid claim to. Listening to Journey Into Darkness, I think Brett Clarin likes Emperor a lot too.” Infinite nightside.
“The time has come for this young(ish) sponge to return to his roots—bombastic, cheesy symphonic metal helmed by a classically trained soprano. This genre of metal used to be my absolute favorite for many of the same reasons people lambast it today, up to and including the extreme lactose concentration, countless layers of orchestration, and the wall of sound production that so easily overwhelms the neurally frail. I craved the feeling of my entire brain lighting up, desperate to keep up with the immense amount of stimuli bombarding it at once. Now on their fifth full-length album entitled Of Wonders and Wars, France’s Whyzdom attempt to recreate that same firework exhibit inside my nervous system.” Wonder wail.
“What initially drew me to Arcane Existence’s sophomore release Colossus was, admittedly, the album cover. The rich, concentrated gem tones, spindly castle, misty forest, and swirly, cyclonic clouds hovering underneath a full moon had me hooked. I can handle this, I thought to myself, hoping against hope that none of my greedy coworkers would slap their name on the promo before I could do a little more research prior to fully committing. After learning that Arcane Existence describes their sound as symphonic blackened death, it was game over. Say no more. This promo was mine.” Art and large expectations.
“It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed female fronted symphonic metal, or to use a common colloquialism, Nightwishcore. This has not been entirely happenstance; though I do blindly grab an album from the bin on occasion, I’ve otherwise avoided all the usual markers wherever possible. But I’ll make an exception for Lost in Grey, the only Nightwishcore I’ve ever granted my wholehearted recommendation for attempting to escape the tightly cinched corset of the genre’s many clichés.” Own the night(wish).
“We throw around the phrase “Nightwish clone” in here a lot (at least it seems like we do; I have no inclination to check my claims), but in this case it feels eerily accurate. With Eternal White, Nergard channel Century Child with some Winterheart’s Guild-era Sonata Arctica thrown in for “spice.” “Spice” is in quotation marks, by the way, because this isn’t a very spicy album – in fact, it’s played very safe, leaning on a formula that has served the Leaves’ Eyes, the Xandrias, and the Sirenias of the world well: symphonic first, metal second.” White is a passive color.
